JP5103441B2 - Charge management device, charge management system, and charge management method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a charge management device, a charge management system, and a charge management method in a computer resource providing system that provides an instance in response to a computer resource provision request from a user terminal.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, computer resource providing systems that provide computer resources of a virtualization apparatus that virtualizes computer resources and activates a virtual machine so as to be available to users in units of time via a network have become widespread. Such services, also called cloud services, allow users to use computer hardware and software by paying a pay-as-you-go system rather than buying or leasing them, or using them as needed. It is possible (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

  For example, the computer resource providing apparatus that provides such computer resources includes a plurality of desktop programs, various server programs, application programs, etc. that provide a desktop environment of an OS (Operating System) and a GUI (Graphical User Interface) in the OS. Types of image files are stored in advance. The computer resource providing apparatus that has received the computer resource provision request transmitted from the user expands an arbitrary image file designated by the user terminal on a virtual machine that the virtualization apparatus divides and starts its own computer resource, The started virtual machine is provided to the user terminal as an instance. The user terminal can be used by connecting to a virtual machine via a network. For example, if a desktop environment is constructed in an instance, a user can use the same desktop environment from anywhere using a computer terminal that can be connected to a network. In this way, a thin client environment can be realized by using a computer resource providing system, and a web server, an AP (application) server, a DB (database) server, etc. are constructed for each of a plurality of instances. It is also possible to control each server from the desktop, operate the web service, and publish it on the network.

  In such a computer resource providing system, a usage fee based on pay-per-use is calculated according to the amount of computer resource provided. The calculated usage fee is paid by a prepaid electronic money purchased in advance by the user, points given to the user at online shopping, etc., in addition to being paid by a post-pay method by credit card settlement, for example. Can be considered. In this case, the usage balance for each user stored and stored by the prepaid method in the fee management apparatus that manages the computer resource fee is stored, and the computer resource usage fee is deducted. Here, if the usage balance of the user falls below the total usage fee of the plurality of instances being provided, the provided instance is released and the connection from the user terminal is refused.

“Amazon web services”, [online], [Search April 1, 2009], Internet URL: http://aws.amazon.com/

  However, when the user uses a plurality of instances by the computer resource providing system as described above, it is conceivable that the priority order for the instance to exist is different for each instance. For example, an instance in which a desktop program used to control other various instances operates may require a longer-term persistence than an instance in which other programs operate. Even in such a case, if the prepaid method in which the usage fee of the computer resource is deducted from the usage balance as described above, if the usage balance of the user falls below the total usage fee of the plurality of instances being provided, Regardless, all instances will be released. Here, when computer resources are provided by prepaid pay-as-you-go, it is desirable to release an instance according to a predetermined priority order.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and in a computer resource providing system that provides an instance by prepaid metering in response to a computer resource provision request from a user terminal, according to a predetermined priority order. A fee management device, a fee management system, and a fee management method for releasing an instance.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention receives a computer resource provision request for each instance, which is a computer resource provision unit, from a user terminal connected via a network, and responds to the received computer resource provision request. Is a charge management device that is connected to a computer resource providing device that provides a user instance to a user terminal and manages a computer resource usage fee based on the instance provided to the user terminal, and is associated with user identification information that identifies the user terminal A usage balance storage unit in which the usage balance of the consideration paid for the computer resource usage fee is stored in advance, user identification information, instance identification information for identifying an instance provided to the user terminal, and provision of the instance Priority to survive Instance information associated with high and low priorities is stored in an instance information storage unit that is stored for each of a plurality of instances provided to the user terminal, and the usage balance for each priority is below a predetermined threshold. A priority threshold release unit that stores a priority threshold indicating that an instance associated with the priority is released, and a balance that determines whether or not the usage balance is less than the priority threshold. When the determination unit and the balance determination unit determine that the usage balance is less than the priority threshold, the instance associated with the priority among the instances stored in the instance information storage unit is detected as a release target. A release target detection unit, and an instance release unit that causes the computer resource providing apparatus to release the release target instance detected by the release target detection unit. Characterized in that it obtain.

  Further, in the present invention, the instance information stored in the instance information storage unit includes information indicating a group to which the corresponding instance belongs among the groups determined according to the use application of the instance. When a plurality of instances associated with the priority are detected, the instance is detected as a release target for each group.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the balance determination unit determines whether or not the predicted value of the used balance after the lapse of the predetermined time is less than the priority threshold value at every fixed time. If it is determined that the value is less than the threshold, warning information is generated and transmitted to the user terminal.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the usage balance stored in the usage balance storage unit includes a point added in accordance with an advertisement displayed on the user terminal when the instance is provided to the user terminal. To do.

  In addition, the present invention receives a computer resource provision request for each instance, which is a computer resource provision unit, from a user terminal connected via a network, and provides the user terminal with an instance corresponding to the received computer resource provision request Charge management comprising a charge management device connected to a computer resource providing device for managing computer resource usage fees based on an instance provided to a user terminal, and an advertisement server device storing advertisement information to be transmitted to the user terminal The charge management device is a usage balance storage unit in which a usage balance of consideration paid for a computer resource usage fee is stored in advance in association with user identification information for identifying a user terminal, and user identification information And the Instagram provided on the user terminal The instance information in which the instance identification information for identifying the instance is associated with the priority indicating the priority level for continuing the provision of the instance is stored for each of the plurality of instances provided to the user terminal A storage unit, and a priority-specific release threshold storage unit that stores a priority threshold indicating that an instance associated with the priority is released when the usage balance falls below a predetermined threshold for each priority; When the balance determining unit that determines whether or not the usage balance is less than the priority threshold and the balance determination unit determines that the usage balance is less than the priority threshold, the balance is stored in the instance information storage unit. Among the instances, the release target detection unit that detects the instance associated with the priority as the release target, and the release target instance detected by the release target detection unit An instance releasing unit that releases the resource to the computer resource providing device, and the advertisement server device outputs and outputs advertisement information to the user terminal when the instance is provided to the user terminal by the computer resource providing device. The compensation according to the advertisement information is added to the usage balance stored in the usage balance storage unit of the fee management apparatus in association with the user identification information of the user terminal that has output the advertising information.

  In addition, the present invention receives a computer resource provision request for each instance, which is a computer resource provision unit, from a user terminal connected via a network, and provides the user terminal with an instance corresponding to the received computer resource provision request Connected to the computer resource providing device, manages the computer resource usage fee based on the instance provided to the user terminal, and is associated with user identification information for identifying the user terminal, and is paid for the computer resource usage fee. A usage balance storage unit in which a usage balance is stored in advance, user identification information, instance identification information for identifying an instance provided to the user terminal, and a priority indicating the level of priority for continuing to provide the instance. Associated instance An instance information storage unit that stores information for each of a plurality of instances provided to the user terminal, and an instance associated with the priority when the usage balance falls below a predetermined threshold for each priority. A charge management method for a charge management apparatus including a priority-specific release threshold storage unit that stores a priority threshold indicating release, and determines whether or not the usage balance is less than the priority threshold If it is determined that the usage balance is less than the priority threshold, among the instances stored in the instance information storage unit, the instance associated with the priority is detected as a release target, and the detected release target And causing the computer resource providing device to release the instance.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the fee management apparatus connected to the computer resource providing apparatus that provides the user terminal with an instance corresponding to the computer resource provision request is associated with the user identification information for identifying the user terminal. The instance balance information is stored in advance and the instance identification information for identifying the instance provided to the user terminal is associated with the instance information associated with the priority indicating the priority level for continuing the provision of the instance. If it is determined that the usage balance of the user is less than the threshold corresponding to the priority, the instance corresponding to the priority is released. When the number decreases, all instances are not released uniformly, Flip it is possible to release the instance.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the computer resource provision system by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the input screen displayed on a user terminal by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of data of the instance information by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the data example of the computer resource utilization fee information classified by size by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of data of the utilization balance by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the data example of the release threshold value by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the operation example of the charge management apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the operation example of the computer resource provision system by one Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a computer resource providing system 1 according to the present embodiment. The computer resource providing system 1 includes a user terminal 100, a computer resource providing apparatus 200, and a plurality of computer virtualization apparatuses 210-N (computer virtualization apparatus 210-1, computer virtualization apparatus 210-2, computer virtualization apparatus) 210-3,...), A fee management apparatus 300, and an advertisement server 400. Here, the plurality of computer virtualization apparatuses 210-N have the same configuration, and will be described as the computer virtualization apparatus 210 when it is not necessary to distinguish between them.

  The user terminal 100 is a computer device that uses computer resources provided by the computer resource providing device 200. The user terminal 100 communicates with the computer resource providing apparatus 200 via a network. When the user terminal 100 transmits a computer resource provision request to the computer resource provision apparatus 200 according to operation information input from the user, the computer virtualization apparatus 210 assigned to itself among the plurality of computer virtualization apparatuses 210. The virtual machine identification information for identifying the virtual machine is notified. The user terminal 100 connects to the computer virtualization apparatus 210 based on the notified virtual machine identification information and uses the virtual machine. For example, the virtual machine identification information is an IP address of a virtual machine activated by the computer virtualization apparatus 210, and the user terminal 100 connects to the computer virtualization apparatus 210 with the notified IP address as a destination. Here, when the user terminal 100 connects to the computer virtualization apparatus 210 assigned to the user terminal 100 and starts the virtual machine, the advertisement information transmitted from the advertisement server 400 to the startup screen displayed on the user terminal 100 is displayed. Is displayed.

  In addition, the user terminal 100 receives the instance provision request input screen transmitted from the computer resource providing apparatus 200, displays the screen on the display unit, and generates an instance provision request according to information input from the user. The instance provision request includes information indicating an image ID for identifying an image file to be activated, a size of a computer resource of the requested instance, a priority indicating the priority of instance survivability, a group ID of the instance, and the like. included.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an instance provision request input screen displayed on the user terminal 100. The image ID indicated by symbol a is information for identifying one of a plurality of image files having functions such as a desktop, a mail server, and an FTP server that provide a GUI (Graphical User Interface) desktop environment. A single image file is selected. The size indicated by the symbol b is the capacity and capacity value of the computer resource of the instance. For example, sizes such as S, M, and L are prepared in advance according to the capacity value and capacity of the computer resource. For example, S indicates a virtual machine having a CPU performance of 2.6 GHz, a memory capacity of 2 GB, and a disk capacity of 500 GB. M is a virtual machine with a higher capability value than S, and L is a virtual machine with a higher capability value than M.

  The priority indicated by the symbol c is a numerical value indicating the level of the priority of the persistence of the instance. In this embodiment, the lower the numerical value, the higher the priority and the other the relatively lower priority than the other instances. Also shows that it will last for a long time. On the other hand, the higher the numerical value, the lower the priority, and the permission to release the instance at an earlier stage than other instances having a relatively high priority. The group ID indicated by the symbol d is a unit determined according to the use of the instance, and indicates that instances associated with the same group ID belong to the same group. For example, a web server, an AP server, a DB server, etc. that provide web services in cooperation with each other can be set as the same group. Here, when any instance among a plurality of instances provided to the user terminal 100 is released due to a lack of charges, the instances belonging to the same group are released on a group basis. Reference sign e is an application button, and when pressed by the user, a computer resource provision request including selected values such as image ID, size, priority, group ID and the like is generated by the user terminal 100, and the computer resource provision Transmitted to the device 200.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the computer resource providing apparatus 200 receives the computer resource provision request transmitted from the user terminal 100, and in response to the received computer resource provision request, any one of the plurality of computer virtualization apparatuses 210 is provided. A virtual machine based on a specified image file is started on a computer resource virtualized by the computer virtualization apparatus 210, and virtual machine identification information for identifying the started virtual machine is transmitted to the user terminal 100 and provided as an instance. . Here, in the computer resource providing apparatus 200, an image file that is information including an OS (Operating System) that is operated in a virtual machine of the computer virtualization apparatus 210, a server program that operates on the OS, and an application program is stored in advance. Remembered.

  Further, when the computer resource providing apparatus 200 provides an instance to the user terminal 100 in response to a computer resource provision request from the user terminal 100, the instance information related to the provided instance is stored in the instance information storage unit 310 of the fee management apparatus 300. Let Further, the computer resource providing apparatus 200 receives from the fee management apparatus 300 an instance release request including the instance ID of the instance detected as the instance release target. The computer resource providing apparatus 200 causes the computer virtualization apparatus 210 that provides an instance according to the received instance release request to reject the connection from the user terminal 100 and releases the instance.

  The plurality of computer virtualization apparatuses 210 are computer apparatuses having a function of virtualizing their computer resources. The computer virtualization apparatus 210 virtually divides its computer resource and starts a virtual machine on the divided computer resource. As software for providing such a virtual machine, for example, Xen (registered trademark) can be applied.

  The fee management device 300 is a computer device that calculates a fee according to the amount of computer resources provided to the user terminal 100 by the computer resource providing device 200, and includes an instance information storage unit 310 and a computer resource usage fee storage by size. Unit 320, usage balance storage unit 330, priority release threshold storage unit 340, balance determination unit 350, release target detection unit 360, and instance release unit 370.

  The instance information storage unit 310 stores information related to the instance provided to the user terminal 100. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of instance information data stored in the instance information storage unit 310. In the instance information, information on a user ID, an instance ID, an image ID, a size, a priority, and a group ID is stored in association with each other.

  The user ID included in the instance information is identification information for identifying the user terminal 100 to which the instance is provided. The instance ID is information for identifying an instance provided to the corresponding user terminal 100. The instance ID may be, for example, identification information generated for uniquely identifying an instance by the computer resource providing apparatus 200, or virtual machine identification information that is an IP address of a virtual machine may be applied. The image ID identifies an image file of a virtual machine that is activated in the corresponding instance. The size is the size of the computer resource of the corresponding instance. The priority indicates the priority specified for the corresponding instance. The group ID indicates a group designated for the corresponding instance.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the computer resource usage fee storage unit 320 by size stores computer resource usage fees determined in advance according to the size of the instance provided by the computer resource providing apparatus 200. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the computer resource usage fee storage unit 320 by size. In this example, the computer resource usage fee per hour is determined and stored for each size, the computer resource usage fee per hour for the instance of size S is 10 yen, and the computer resource usage fee per hour for the instance of size M The computer resource usage fee is 20 yen, and the computer resource usage fee per hour for an instance of size L is 30 yen.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the usage balance storage unit 330 stores in advance the usage balance of the consideration paid for the computer resource usage fee in association with the user ID for identifying the user terminal 100. The usage balance is, for example, prepaid electronic money that is given by purchasing a user's credit card or purchasing a prepaid card. Further, the usage balance may include points that are added according to the advertisement displayed on the user terminal 100 when the instance is provided to the user terminal 100. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a data example of the usage balance stored in the usage balance storage unit 330. Here, for example, the usage balance of the user whose user ID is “1” is 31,000 yen.

  In the priority release threshold storage unit 340, for each priority, when the usage balance for each user stored in the usage balance storage unit 330 falls below a predetermined threshold, the instance associated with the priority is stored. A priority threshold value indicating release of the is stored. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of threshold data stored in the priority-specific release threshold storage unit 340. Here, a priority 3 instance is released when the user's usage balance falls below 10,000 yen, and a priority 2 instance is released when the user's usage balance falls below 5500 yen. The priority 1 instance indicates that the user's usage balance is provided until it reaches 0 yen. Here, different priority thresholds may be stored for each user in the priority release threshold storage unit 340.

  The balance determination unit 350 performs balance determination processing for determining whether the user's usage balance stored in the usage balance storage unit 330 is less than the priority threshold stored in the priority release threshold storage unit 340. . In addition, the balance determination unit 350 calculates a predicted value of the usage balance after the lapse of a certain time at regular time intervals, and determines whether or not the calculated predicted value of the usage balance is less than a priority threshold value. If the balance determination unit 350 determines that the predicted value of the usage balance is less than the priority threshold, the balance determination unit 350 generates warning information and transmits it to the user terminal 100. The warning information may be transmitted by e-mail or the like, for example, or the warning information may be displayed on a virtual machine startup screen provided from the computer virtualization apparatus 210.

  For example, the balance determination unit 350 calculates a predicted value of the used balance after one day when using the provided instance for each week, and performs a balance determination process based on the predicted value. For example, the balance determination unit 350 includes the size of each instance associated with the user ID stored in the instance information storage unit 310, the computer resource usage fee stored in the computer resource usage fee storage unit 320 by size, Based on the above, the total amount of the computer resource usage fee required after a certain period (for example, one day) for calculating the predicted value of the usage balance is calculated. For example, when data as illustrated in FIG. 3 is stored in the instance information storage unit 310, six instances with instance IDs 1 to 6 are provided to the user with the user ID “1”. It is shown that two instances of size S, three instances of size M, and one instance of size L are provided.

  Therefore, the balance determination unit 350 determines the number and size of instances, the computer resource usage fee for each size stored in the computer resource usage fee storage unit 320 for each size, and a certain period (for example, one day (24 hours)). The total amount of computer resource usage charges after a certain period is calculated as (2 (number of S) × 10 (charge per S time) × 24 (hour) +3 (number of M) × 20 (M It is calculated as (charge per hour) × 24 (hour) +1 (number of L) × 30 (charge per L time) × 24 (hour) =) 2640 yen. Then, the balance determination unit 350 subtracts the total charge (2640 yen) from the current user balance (31000 yen), and uses the predicted value (31000-2640 = 28360 yen) after a certain period (one day). ) Is calculated.

  Then, the balance determination unit 350 compares the calculated predicted value of the usage balance with the priority threshold value. Here, the predicted value of the used balance (28360 yen) is equal to or higher than the priority threshold (10000 yen) of the lowest priority 3, and the balance determination unit 350 determines that the calculated predicted value of the used balance is the priority. It is determined that the degree is not less than the threshold. Here, when the balance determination unit 350 calculates the total amount of the computer resource usage fee after a certain period of the provided instance, it may be calculated based on the usage history for each instance. For example, the average value of the usage time per day for a specific instance may be calculated from the usage history, and the computer resource usage fee per day may be calculated based on the calculated usage time.

  Here, an example is shown in which the balance determination unit 350 calculates a predicted value of a usage balance after a certain period of time (one day later) and compares the calculated predicted value with a predetermined priority threshold. Instead of calculating the value, a comparison process between the usage balance at the time of processing and the priority threshold value may be performed to determine whether or not the usage balance at the time of processing is less than the priority threshold value. In addition, the comparison processing between the usage balance at the time of processing and the priority threshold value and the comparison processing between the predicted value of the usage balance after a predetermined time and the priority threshold value are performed, and the usage at the time of processing is performed. When it is determined that either the balance or the predicted value of the usage balance after a certain period of time is less than the priority threshold value, a release target detection process by the release target detection unit 360 described later may be performed.

  When the balance determination unit 350 determines that the usage balance is less than the priority threshold, the release target detection unit 360 determines that the instances stored in the instance information storage unit 310 are less than the priority threshold. The instances associated with the priorities are detected as release targets for each group.

  The instance release unit 370 causes the computer resource providing apparatus 200 to release the release target instance detected by the release target detection unit 360. Here, the instance release unit 370 transmits an instance release request including the instance ID of the instance detected as the release target by the release target detection unit 360 to the computer resource providing apparatus 200 to the computer resource providing apparatus 200.

  When the user terminal 100 is connected to the computer virtualization apparatus 210, the advertisement server 400 transmits advertisement information to the user terminal 100 and displays the advertisement information on the screen of the user terminal 100. The advertisement information may be a still image or a moving image. When the transmitted advertisement information is output to the user terminal 100, the advertisement server 400 issues points as consideration for advertisement browsing, and is stored in the usage balance storage unit 330 of the fee management apparatus 300 in association with the user terminal 100. The used balance is added and stored in accordance with the advertisement browsing price.

Next, an operation example of the computer resource providing system 1 according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of instance release processing performed by the computer resource providing apparatus 200 according to this embodiment.
Here, the predicted value of the used balance after a certain period calculated by the balance determination unit 350 is B, the threshold value corresponding to priority 3 is V3, the threshold value corresponding to priority 2 is V2, and the threshold value corresponding to priority 1 Is described as V1.

  First, the balance determination unit 350 calculates a predicted value B of a usage balance after a certain period, compares the calculated predicted value B with a threshold value V3 corresponding to priority 3, and determines whether or not B is greater than V3. Is determined (step S1). If the balance determination unit 350 determines that B is greater than V3 (step S1: YES), the fee management apparatus 300 does not perform the instance release process and waits for a certain period (step S2), and then again. The process of step S1 is performed.

  If the balance determination unit 350 determines that B is greater than V3 in step S1 (step S1: NO), the release target detection unit 360 releases the instance group to which priority 3 is assigned. It is determined whether or not there is a group or a combination of groups that satisfies B> V3 (step S3). For example, when there are 10 groups 1 to 10 in priority 3, it is determined whether B> V3 is satisfied by releasing group 1. Further, for example, by releasing both groups of the combination of group 1 and group 2, it is determined whether or not B> V3 is satisfied. In this way, the release target detection unit 360 detects a group or a combination of groups to be released.

  In step S3, if the release target detection unit 360 determines that there is a group that satisfies B> V3 when released (step S3: YES), the instance release unit 370 is detected by the release target detection unit 360. If there is only one group, an instance release request belonging to the group is transmitted to the computer resource providing apparatus 200 to release the instance. In addition, when the group detected by the release target detection unit 360 is a combination of a plurality of groups, the instance release unit 370 detects a combination of groups with the smallest number of groups to be released among the group combinations. Then, a request for releasing instances belonging to the detected combination of groups is transmitted to the computer resource providing apparatus 200 (step S4).

  In step S3, if the release target detection unit 360 determines that there is no group that satisfies B> V3 when released (step S3: NO), the instance release unit 370 is given priority 3. The release request for all the instances is transmitted to the computer resource providing apparatus 200 to release the instances (step S5). Then, similarly to step S3, the release target detection unit 360 has a group or combination of groups that satisfies B> V2 when released, among the groups of instances to which priority 2 is given. It is determined whether or not (step S6). If the release target detection unit 360 determines that there is a group that satisfies B> V2 when released (step S6: YES), the process proceeds to step S4, and the instance release unit 370 is executed by the release target detection unit 360. Of the detected groups, the group with the smallest group to be released is released.

  On the other hand, if the release target detection unit 360 determines in step S6 that there is no group that satisfies B> V2 when released (step S6: NO), the instance release unit 370 has priority 2 A release request for all of the given instances is transmitted to the computer resource providing apparatus 200 to release the instances (step S7). In addition, as in step S6, the release target detection unit 360 has a group or combination of groups that satisfies B> V1 when released, among the groups of instances to which priority 1 is assigned. It is determined whether or not (step S8). If the release target detection unit 360 determines that there is a group that satisfies B> V1 when released (step S8: YES), the process proceeds to step S4, and the instance release unit 370 is executed by the release target detection unit 360. Of the detected groups, the group with the smallest group to be released is released. On the other hand, in step S8, if the release target detection unit 360 determines that there is no group that satisfies B> V1 when released (step S8: NO), the instance release unit 370 has priority 1 An instance release request for all of the given instances is transmitted to the computer resource providing apparatus 200, the instances are released (step S9), and the process is terminated.

Next, with reference to FIG. 8, an example in which the instance provided by the computer resource providing system 1 of the present embodiment is released as the usage balance decreases will be described.
FIG. 8A is a diagram showing instances provided to or released from a specific user terminal 100 over time, and FIG. 8B is a user usage corresponding to a computer resource usage fee. It is the figure which showed the balance. Here, it is assumed that the size of all instances provided to the user terminal 100 is S. The usage fee for an instance of size S is assumed to be 10 yen per hour. That is, the usage fee per day is 240 yen, and the usage fee per week is 1680 yen. Here, the balance determination unit 350 calculates a predicted value of the used balance after one day when the provided instance is continuously used every week, and performs a balance determination process based on the predicted value.

  As shown in FIG. 8 (1), as of April 1, a specific user terminal 100 has a DB server indicated by reference numeral a1, a mail server indicated by reference numeral a4, and a file indicated by reference numeral b. Four instances of the transfer server and the desktop indicated by symbol c are provided. Here, the desktop instance is used for one hour per day every day, and the other instances are continuously operated for 24 hours. That is, a charge of 10 yen per day is incurred for the instance of the code c, and a charge of 240 yen per day is incurred for the other instances. The priority 3 (low) is given to the instances of the code a1 and the code a4. The instance of the symbol b is given priority 2 (medium). A priority level 1 (high) is given to the instance of the code c. At this point, none of these instances form a group with other instances. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, it is assumed that the usage balance stored in the usage balance storage unit 330 as of April 1 is 31,000 yen.

  If the instance continues to be used for 7 days from April 1 to April 7, a usage fee of (70 × 1 + 1680 × 3 =) 5110 yen is generated. Therefore, 5110 yen is subtracted from the usage balance of 31,000 yen as of April 1, and the usage balance as of April 8 is 25890 yen. Next, at the time of April 8, provision of an instance of the AP server indicated by reference numeral a2 is started. The instance with the symbol a2 belongs to the same group as the instance with the symbol a1, and is given priority 3. If the instance continues to be used for 7 days from April 8 to April 14, a usage fee of (70 × 1 + 1680 × 4 =) 6790 is generated. 6790 yen is subtracted from the usage balance of 25890 yen as of April 8, and the usage balance as of April 15 is 19100 yen.

  As of April 15, provision of an instance of the web server indicated by symbol a3 is started. The instance of the symbol a3 belongs to the same group as the instances of the symbols a1 and a2, and is given priority 3. If the instance continues to be used for 7 days from April 15 to April 21, a usage fee of (70 × 1 + 1680 × 5 =) 8470 is generated. 8470 yen is deducted from the usage balance of 19100 yen as of April 15, and the usage balance as of April 22 is 10630 yen. At this point, there are five instances (references a1, a2, a3, a4, and reference sign b) that operate for 24 hours, so if all these instances continue to operate, the usage balance after one day becomes (10630- (10 × 1 + 240 × 5) =) 9420 yen, and the balance determination unit 350 determines that the value is lower than the value “10000 yen” defined as the priority 3 threshold. Therefore, the release target detection unit 360 determines a release target instance. Here, there are four instances (reference numbers a1, a2, a3, and a4) having a priority of 3, and the reference numbers a1, a2, and a3 are the same group. The usage balance is equal to or higher than the priority 3 threshold. Therefore, the release target detection unit 360 causes the computer resource providing apparatus 200 to release the instances of the symbols a1, a2, and a3 as of April 21.

  Furthermore, if the instances of symbols a4, b, and c continue to be used for 7 days from April 22 to April 28, a usage fee of (70 × 1 + 1680 × 2 =) 3430 yen is generated. 3430 yen is deducted from the usage balance of 10630 yen as of April 22, and the usage balance as of April 29 is 7200 yen. If all these instances are kept running, the usage balance after one day is (7200− (10 × 1 + 240 × 2) =) 6710 yen, which is lower than the value “10000 yen” defined as the threshold of priority 3 . Therefore, as of April 28, the release target detection unit 360 detects the instance of the code a4 assigned the priority 3 as the release target, and releases the instance of the code a4. Here, the balance used as of April 29 is 7200 yen, which is lower than the value “10000 yen” set as the threshold value for priority 3, so the balance determination unit 350 uses the balance after 1 day. The release target detection unit 360 detects the instance of the symbol a4 as the release target by comparing the usage balance at the time of processing with the priority threshold without performing the comparison process between the predicted value and the priority threshold. May be. Similarly, as of May 5, the instance of the code b having the priority 2 is released, and the provided instance is only the instance of the code c having the priority 1. Thereafter, the instance of the code c is provided until the usage balance becomes zero.

  In the present embodiment, the balance determination unit 350 performs the balance determination process every week. However, the balance determination unit 350 performs the balance determination process at an arbitrary timing (for example, one day interval). Anyway. For example, in the example of FIG. 8, when balance determination processing is performed every day, the balance used as of April 23 is (10630− (10 × 1 + 240 × 2) =) 10140 yen, and the next day The predicted value of the usage balance as of April 24 is (10140− (10 × 1 + 240 × 2) =) 9650 yen, and is determined to be below the priority 3 threshold. In this case, the instance of the mail server indicated by reference numeral a4 is released as of April 23.

  In the present embodiment, the priority and group ID of the instance activated by the computer virtualization apparatus 210 are specified by being input to the user terminal 100 by the user. Each initial value is determined and stored, and when the computer resource providing apparatus 200 receives a computer resource provision request for which these are not specified, the instance of the computer virtualization apparatus 210 is activated by applying the initial value. You may do it.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the usage balance of the user falls below the priority threshold value determined for each priority, only the instance associated with the priority is released. Therefore, even when the usage balance is decreasing, it is possible to continue to provide instances with high priority. As a result, for example, the user maintains a high-priority instance for which a desktop environment with a high priority for the user is provided, and the instance such as a web server, an AP server, or a DB server is used. As the balance decreases, it is possible to release the desktop environment faster than the instance provided. As a result, the decrease in the usage balance can be moderated, and it becomes possible to continue using the instance of the desktop environment with a high priority for a longer period of time.

  In addition, for example, when computer resources are provided for each instance by a prepaid method for each period such as one month, if the provision start time of the instance is different, the provision end time of the instance is also different. Here, for example, if the provision start times of the instances of the web server, the AP server, and the DB server that cooperate to provide the web service are different, when the instance with the earliest provision start time is released, It is possible that it will not function as a web service. According to the present embodiment, even in such a case, it is possible to match the cooperating instances with the same group, so that the provision end time of the instances can be made the same time.

  In addition, for example, when the priority of survivability is higher for the user than the desktop environment, such as an instance of a web server, an AP server, a DB server, or the like, the desktop is set by such setting. The provision of instances such as a web server, an AP server, and a DB server can last longer than the environment. Further, for example, when the primary and secondary computer systems are operated using the computer resources provided from the computer resource providing apparatus 200, the priority of the primary computer system is set to the priority of the secondary computer system. By setting the priority higher than the priority, the main computer system can be continued for a longer period of time. Also, for example, among the web server, AP server, and DB server, when data is stored in the DB server, the priority of the instance of the DB server is higher than the priority of other instances when the importance of survival is high. By keeping the value higher, the DB server can be maintained for a longer period of time, and data loss can be prevented.

  Furthermore, since the usage balance stored in the usage balance storage unit 330 is added in accordance with the advertising information transmitted to the user terminal 100 by the advertising server 400, for instances where the usage time per day is short, In some cases, it is possible to survive only by consideration of browsing advertisement information transmitted from the server 400. For example, when an ordinary user uses an instance provided by the computer resource providing apparatus 200 as his / her desktop environment, the use of the desktop environment may be about one hour per day. In such a case, if the usage fee for computer resources per hour is 10 yen, and the points issued for each advertisement viewing is equivalent to 10 yen, the instance can be obtained only by browsing the advertisement. It is possible to maintain the usage balance to be used. In this way, the user can use the computer resource provided from the computer resource providing apparatus 200 free of charge by the consideration according to the advertisement information transmitted from the advertisement server 400. Thereby, it can be expected that a computer resource provider that provides computer resources to the user terminal 100 has more users use their services.

  In addition, the program for realizing the function of the processing unit in the present invention is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium is read into the computer system and executed to manage the usage fee. May be performed. Here, the “computer system” includes an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices. The “computer system” includes a WWW system having a homepage providing environment (or display environment). The “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a storage device such as a flexible medium, a magneto-optical disk, a portable medium such as a ROM and a CD-ROM, and a hard disk incorporated in a computer system. Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” refers to a volatile memory (RAM) in a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. In addition, those holding programs for a certain period of time are also included.

  The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, and what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Computer resource provision system 100 User terminal 200 Computer resource provision apparatus 210 Computer virtualization apparatus 300 Charge management apparatus 310 Instance information storage part 320 Computer resource utilization charge storage part by size 330 Usage balance storage part 340 Release threshold storage part by priority 350 Balance determination unit 360 Release target detection unit 370 Instance release unit 400 Advertising server

Claims (6)

Computer resource provision for receiving a computer resource provision request for each instance, which is a computer resource provision unit, from a user terminal connected via a network and providing the user terminal with an instance corresponding to the received computer resource provision request A charge management device that is connected to a device and manages a computer resource usage fee based on the instance provided to the user terminal,
A usage balance storage unit in which a usage balance of consideration paid for the computer resource usage fee is stored in advance in association with user identification information for identifying the user terminal;
Instance information in which the user identification information, the instance identification information for identifying the instance provided to the user terminal, and the priority indicating the level of priority for continuing the provision of the instance are associated with each other, An instance information storage unit stored for each of a plurality of instances provided to the user terminal;
For each priority, a priority-specific release threshold storage unit that stores a priority threshold indicating that the instance associated with the priority is released when the usage balance falls below a predetermined threshold; ,
A balance determination unit that determines whether or not the usage balance is less than the priority threshold;
When the balance determination unit determines that the usage balance is less than the priority threshold, among the instances stored in the instance information storage unit, an instance associated with the priority is set as a release target. A release target detection unit to detect,
An instance release unit that causes the computer resource providing device to release the instance to be released detected by the release target detection unit;
A charge management device comprising: The instance information stored in the instance information storage unit includes information indicating a group to which a corresponding instance belongs among groups determined according to usage of the instance,
The fee management according to claim 1, wherein the release target detection unit detects the instance as a release target for each group when detecting a plurality of instances associated with the priority. apparatus. The balance determination unit determines whether or not the predicted value of the usage balance after a lapse of a certain time is less than the priority threshold value every fixed time, and the predicted value of the usage balance is the priority threshold value The charge management device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when it is determined that the number is less than, warning information is generated and transmitted to the user terminal. The usage balance stored in the usage balance storage unit includes points that are added according to an advertisement displayed on the user terminal when the instance is provided to the user terminal. The charge management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Computer resource provision for receiving a computer resource provision request for each instance, which is a computer resource provision unit, from a user terminal connected via a network and providing the user terminal with an instance corresponding to the received computer resource provision request A charge management system comprising a charge management device connected to a device and managing a computer resource usage fee based on the instance provided to the user terminal, and an advertisement server device storing advertisement information to be transmitted to the user terminal Because
The charge management device
A usage balance storage unit in which a usage balance of consideration paid for the computer resource usage fee is stored in advance in association with user identification information for identifying the user terminal;
Instance information in which the user identification information, the instance identification information for identifying the instance provided to the user terminal, and the priority indicating the level of priority for continuing the provision of the instance are associated with each other, An instance information storage unit stored for each of a plurality of instances provided to the user terminal;
For each priority, a priority-specific release threshold storage unit that stores a priority threshold indicating that the instance associated with the priority is released when the usage balance falls below a predetermined threshold; ,
A balance determination unit that determines whether or not the usage balance is less than the priority threshold;
When the balance determination unit determines that the usage balance is less than the priority threshold, among the instances stored in the instance information storage unit, an instance associated with the priority is set as a release target. A release target detection unit to detect,
An instance release unit that causes the computer resource providing device to release the release target instance detected by the release target detection unit;
The advertisement server device
When the instance is provided to the user terminal by the computer resource providing device, the advertisement information is output to the user terminal, and the compensation according to the output advertisement information is the value of the user terminal that has output the advertisement information. A fee management system, characterized by being added to the usage balance stored in the usage balance storage unit of the fee management device in association with user identification information. Computer resource provision for receiving a computer resource provision request for each instance, which is a computer resource provision unit, from a user terminal connected via a network and providing the user terminal with an instance corresponding to the received computer resource provision request A computer resource usage fee connected to a device and managed based on the instance provided to the user terminal, and associated with user identification information for identifying the user terminal, is paid for the computer resource usage fee. A usage balance storage unit in which a usage balance is stored in advance, the user identification information, instance identification information for identifying the instance provided to the user terminal, and a priority level for continuing to provide the instance. Priority is When the associated instance information is stored for each of a plurality of instances provided to the user terminal and the usage balance falls below a predetermined threshold for each priority A charge management method for a charge management apparatus comprising a priority-specific release threshold storage unit storing a priority threshold indicating that the instance associated with the priority is released,
Determining whether the usage balance is less than the priority threshold;
Determining that the usage balance is less than the priority threshold, detecting an instance associated with the priority among the instances stored in the instance information storage unit as a release target;
Causing the computer resource providing device to release the detected instance to be released;
A charge management method comprising:

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